Feature: Protecting the Great Lakes from Asian Carp

Protecting the Great Lakes from Asian Carp

If invasive giant Asian carp make it into Lake Michigan, these voracious predators could wreak havoc on the entire Great Lakes ecosystem, home to 1/5 of the world’s fresh water. Bighead and silver carp can quickly take over habitat, out-eating and out-breeding native fish. Re-establishing barriers between the Great Lakes basin and Mississippi River watershed is the most effective way to stop the carp’s advance, as well as preventing future invasive species advances.

In January, the Army Corps of Engineers released their long-awaited, Congressionally-mandated study outlining scenarios to rebuff the most infamous invasive species Chicago has ever seen. The Great Lakes and Mississippi River Interbasin Study outlines a series of scenarios for...continued→

Well, at least somebody’s profiting from the Asian carp advance on the Illinois River... Back in 2011 I was blown away by videos of the Peoria Carp Hunters taking on the invasive species with samurai weapons while waterskiing infested waters. And the notoriety that came from...continued→

It sounds like a shadowy comic book origin story: super-powered mutant is accidentally released onto the landscape and mayhem ensues. Sadly, what we are seeing in Midwestern rivers is real life, even though Asian carp are really starting to...continued→

Two important messages on aquatic invasive species came out of the recent 2013 Leadership Summit, where the Great Lakes Governors and the Premiers of Ontario and Quebec gathered to discuss a new collaborative agenda for the region. The messages...continued→

Today the Asian Carp Regional Coordinating Committee (ACRCC), a collaboration among federal, state and local agencies and other stakeholders focused on addressing the threat of Asian carp to the Great Lakes, released its 2013 Monitoring and Response Plan for...continued→

Back in 2010, a group of Great Lakes states led by Michigan sued the Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to permanently close the locks of the Chicago Area Waterways System in...continued→

What’s the latest news in the fight to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes? This week in Chicago, the Army Corps of Engineers held the first of several “charrettes” to inform its work on the aquatic nuisance species...continued→

I made a quick stop in to Hong Kong on my way to NRDC’s offices in Beijing last week. But while taking in the sights of the fascinating city in southern China, Chicago was very much on my mind…and...continued→

Over and over the Asian carp debate gets dumbed down into "fish vs. barges." Usually it relates to pushback against any changes being made to the Chicago Waterways System, but also pops up in the increasingly common occurrence of...continued→

Another day, another disappointment. Earlier this year, Congress gave the Army Corps of Engineers clear orders to sort out a plan to deal with the movement of Asian carp in Chicago’s waterways to prevent the invasive fish from infesting...continued→

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